Cearbhail:
and here we have my newest project: Project Chronicles of the Commonwealth. Sorry about the description. I'll work on it once I get better acclimated to this story. If you want the full version, just read it off my profile page.
So... welcome. If you know me, if you know how I write, and how I like to write things... and if you agree with my writing style then... you'll undoubtedly enjoy this. This first chapter will probably show how random this story will be. If you enjoy that sort of thing, then welcome. If not, well... goodbye!
Enjoy ^^ ...
[Nate] born 2049
"War. War never changes. In the year 1945, my great-great-grandfather, serving in the army, wondered when he'd get to go home to his wife and the son he'd never seen. He got his wish when U.S. ended World War 2 by dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The world awaited Armageddon… instead, something miraculous happened. We began to use atomic energy not as a weapon but as a nearly limitless source of power. People enjoyed luxuries once thought the realm of science fiction. Domestic robots. Fusion powered cars. Portable computers. But then… in the 21st century, people awoke from the American Dream. Years of consumption led to shortages of every major resource. The entire world unraveled. Peace… became a distant memory. It is now the year 2077; we stand on the brink of total war. … And I am afraid. For myself, for my wife, for my infant son. Because if my time in the army taught me one thing… it's that war… war never changes."
If I just kept practicing it, I wouldn't have to worry about unnecessary pausing during my speech at the special event at the veterans' hall in Concord. The very special event… which I couldn't remember anything about… for some reason. From the speech I've been preparing for a few weeks now, I'm almost certain it has something to do with the limitless potential of ending this war with China. The advances we might have if we pooled our remaining resources together… maybe build a space ship, leave this planet… and go find somewhere else to populate and deplete.
As I rinsed my newly shaven face off in the sink, I found myself staring in the bathroom's mirror, almost fully consumed with steam condensation. I felt a smooth hand plant itself on my bare back, sliding up to my shoulder.
"You'll do just fine at the special veterans' event tonight, honey." Nora said reassuringly as she slid up next to me. As she walked up next to me, she nudged me to the side, pushing me away from the mirror. "Now, it's my turn. I have a special court case today. I'm defending someone important for some important company that's attempting to do something special for some reason… perhaps the environment. Perhaps I'm an environmental lawyer, like that really old show 'How I Met Your Mother' or something like that."
I nodded. "Isn't it weird that we can't really remember anything previous to this point, excluding vague instances of recollection?" It's been bothering me all morning. It was almost like my life before this moment wasn't very… important or something like that. I hated that the concussion I took in Anchorage, which occasionally left me momentarily forgetful of things… like my whole life.
As I stared at my own reflection, trying to figure out whatever it was that was bothering me, I just shook the feeling off. This case of forgetfulness was the worst it's ever been. Oh well, I'd just get myself ready for my event tonight and hopefully get through it without really remembering anyone I've had history with.
Nora, lost in her own thoughts, smirked at the very thought. "I'm sure it's just exhaustion from having a four month-old baby that keeps us up all night. You know what sleep deprivation can do to the mind. Make you think crazy things… like… maybe we're just robots with programed memories of once living sentient beings… and perhaps we're being uploaded to our synthetic bodies as we speak… being carefully placed in our dead versions' locations, all with the intention of one lonely boy finally having some amount of closure with his or her long lost parents…" She paused as she looked at her reflection in the mirror.
I couldn't stop myself from laughing as I nudged her aside so I could comb my hair. "You're just the weirdest person I've ever met."
She smiled, nudging me back. "You know you love my imagination." She started putting lipstick on. "You never know though… I might be right. We could end up being synthetic beings programmed with the exact purpose of living a simulated reunion with our long lost son or something like that… so that the dying man can have some amount of closure with his long lost loved ones."
I shook my head. I did not want to go down that road. That was a very convoluted plot, with the premise that our entire lives were false to begin with but we managed to make something out if it… like Soma, or something like that. "Please do not do this to me before we go to the Concord. Speaking of which…" I looked at my lovely wife as she started preparing her mouthwash. "Will you be there tonight?"
She paused right before she took the hit of mouthwash. "We'd have to find a babysitter."
I shrugged. "Do we really have to? We have Codsworth. He can watch the baby."
Somewhere from down the hall, I could hear the British butler bot speaking. "Why hello. You're a poor lost little boy trying to earn enough money to travel back home to Concord to be with your family? Why… how much would you need to get there? 1,000 dollars. Well, that seems unreasonably high… it is just down the road by a mile or so… but… dear poor boy, of course I would never get between you and your family. Here, take 3,000, just in case you need to buy some lunch snacks."
Nora smirked, crossing her arms. "You were saying?"
I sighed. "Yeah, I see your point."
She nodded. "You can't win against a lawyer of my skill. My Charisma and Intelligence are maxed out!" She gently punched me across the chest. "Now, if you don't mind, I believe we have some breakfast to eat."
She walked out of the room, pinching my butt as she did so. I saw her wink playfully at me as she exited the room. I still can't believe how we met. It was at Anchorage. She's Chinese. And she was one of China's Intelligence operators, but once her unit was hit hard, and she was the only one surviving… she managed to sneak across Alaska and into Canada. She got her law degree over there as a refugee from the war in Alaska. We ran into each other several times on the battlefield. Each time was… intimate to say the least. Intelligence isn't her only skill. She was quite the skilled assassin. Can't tell you how many times I tried to put a bullet in her, but she moved like the shadows she trained in. She tried to put bullets in me too, but I'm just as lucky as she is quick on her feet. Both of us were pretty unkillable, and I met her in Canada during one of my allotted (company enforced) days off. It had been a year since I last met her, and she was already halfway done with her degree.
It was quite the scene in the local Starbucks. She was on her laptop, writing some fanfiction for some game she was obsessed with, and… I was buying some coffee because I needed it to cope with my alcohol abuse. And once I bought my coffee, I took a seat down, opening a paper to gaze at the local news of whoever won the last game of baseball. And that's when I saw her raven black hair. She was glancing down at her laptop, completely lost in her work. I knew it was her, and that flipped me into soldier mode. I picked up my coffee and casually made my way over to her, keeping my face obscured by the paper in my hands.
I had a 10 mm pistol tucked in my pants, ready to be used at any second. I'm a soldier, I had a duty to put her down. Well, as I approached her from behind, her screen suddenly went dark. I guess she was loading a new webpage to research on. Either way… she could suddenly see me standing behind her, one hand on my coffee, the other reaching into my pants for my pistol. She locked eyes with me and I saw her flip into her assassin mode. She moved so quickly, flipping out of her chair, wrapping her legs around my neck, and throwing me not only under her but under her chair as well. She had me effectively pinned, my gun hand stuck in my pants.
"Look pervert…" She growled to me before stopping altogether. "You?" She squinted at me. "You're still alive?"
I nodded. "Yeah. And so are you. Want to fix that?"
…
And that's the story of how I met Shaun's mother… well… off duty anyway. I cannot wait to tell Shaun the story. Of course there was more to the story. Police, guards, shooting, jumping over tables, some conspiracy involving her law instructor working for the Chinese government to collect data on a U.S. company through Canada business channels, and Nora may have been set up to take the fall for him. And I may have been the only non-hostile covering her back while we exposed the professor for the spy he was. Three days of running, gunning, evading Canada's finest… all six of them. And I may have ended up kissing Nora when we were finally surrounded by police helicopters, firing miniguns down at us. Power armored up and everything… it still counts as a first kiss. I think.
Either way, ever since then, Nora and I have been together. Got married three years later. And now… here we are. I'm standing in front of a bathroom mirror, still just looking at my reflection, deciding whether or not I even want to go to this super special awesome mega veterans' event tonight or not. I sighed as I pushed away from the mirror. It doesn't matter how long I stare at it, I'm not going to suddenly decide today is a day I can just pretend to forget and sleep off. Heck, it's not like me going to this veterans thing will be the end of the world or something.
Feeling slightly nostalgic, a common thing for someone in their late 20's, I walked around the house, talking mostly to myself about the random objects we had lying around. Nora seemed to be doing the same thing. She randomly picked up her degree, smiling. "I put in a lot of late nights earning this… I'm glad." She caught my eye, smiling at me. "Worth every second."
I smiled back. "So, honey. What do you say to going to the park later?"
She was about to answer right before there was a knock on the door. Nora rolled her eyes, almost pulling out a hidden knife she kept in an arm sleeve she always wore. "Jeez… them again?" She walked over to the door, opening it up.
On the other side of the door stood a ginger wearing a trench coat. "Excuse me, ma'am. Mind if I ask you a few questions?"
"Nick Valentine…" I said to the police detective.
He nodded to me. "Hey, Nate. Is this a bad time? I was in the neighborhood and I heard about a missing child. Maybe ten years-old; runaway from home. He has a nasty habit of using some story he tells to families with nanny bots. He tells his little sob story to the nanny bots programmed to care for children, milk them for money. I know you have a Mister Handy, and I was wondering if he may have seen the child."
I nodded. "I heard the exchange. Not even five minutes ago. Took 3,000 from us."
Nick Valentine tipped his hat to us. "Thank you for your time. I'll be off then. This brat won't find himself. I'll see if I can get your 3,000 back."
"Thanks, Valentine." Nora said, closing the door behind her. When the door was shut, she let go of a held breath. "Jeez…"
I couldn't stop myself from cracking a smile. "Will you calm down?"
She glanced over at me, glaring right at me. "You can't deny it… something feels off. We just can't piece it together yet."
There was another louder rap on the door. And it made Nora almost jump out of her skin. "Jeez!" She turned around, opening the door. "Nick, we already told you…"
On the other side of the door was a different ginger wearing a similar trench coat, only this one had a Vault-Tec badge attached to it. "Good morning. Vault-Tec calling!"
Nora pinched the bridge of her nose. She waved me forward. "Nate, you deal with this. I'm going to see my son."
I nodded as I walked up to the door. "Oh hey… sorry we've been neglecting your calls. We've been busy." Avoiding any kind of contact with the business/we're guessing political world that was called Vault-Tec.
The Vault-Tec guy waved it off like it was nothing. "I'm just glad I can finally talk with you. I've been trying for days. It's very urgent."
"Very Urgent?"
He nodded vigorously. "Very, very Urgent."
"Like… how very, very urgent?"
"Sir, if we stall this out, you might not make it to your vault in time." He responded. "Why, that big KABLAMMO could hit this town at any time… or over that horizon." He pointed out to the left side of the door. "Or in that lake. Or in that tree… or anywhere. It doesn't matter. If the fallout cloud is bigger than you thumb… well, standing there and measuring it is just plain dumb."
I know this man gets paid by the hour to stand here and chat so I didn't feel like drawing this out for too long. We already had plans to take Shaun to the park today, and Nora has her court case against that very important person for some really important reason. "Ok, well… I'm here. What exactly did you want?"
He walked into my house, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. He waved out to the sky, smiling as he said, "To secure your future, Mr… um…" He checked his list of names. "I'm sorry, I only have Nate as your registered name. Do you have a last name?"
I shrugged. "This has been a crazy morning. I'm super tired and I already have memory problems from the concussion I received during my tour in Alaska." Thanks to my current wife, actually.
The Vault-Tec man nodded as if he understood. "And that's why I'm here today, sir. Your service for our country has earned you and your family a spot in the local vault, Vault 111. It's just down the road, up that curvy dirt path…" He pulled me outside, showing me exactly where the vault was. "Right up at the top of that hill is the entrance. A beautiful spot to marvel at all the surrounding trees and wildlife… as well as the horizon I spoke to you about earlier. Just a beautiful spot to have a nuka cola, blow up some firecrackers, nuke something in a microwave, and just… get solar radiation from over tanning."
Wow, that was a bunch of weirdly specific things that all included radiation and explosions… I wonder if he was trying to tell me something. I tried to be stealthy, like my wife. Ok, years and years of D&D, don't fail me now. "Tell me what you know!" I grabbed him by the collar, pulling him close to me, almost lifting him off the ground with my massive soldier-earned muscles.
The Vault-Tec guy melted in my arms. "Oh, God, please don't hurt me! There are rumors of China preparing nuclear war! We're just finalizing our paperwork in case the worst comes to fruition!" Yeah… my Charisma is a natural 20 at all times. My muscles demand respect.
I nodded. "Ok, I believe you. So, what do I need to fill out?"
I gently set him back down and he handed me the paperwork. It had the basics: name, my S.P.E.C.I.A.L., my favorite color, favorite band, favorite Disney movie (Disney owns Vault-Tec, and that's why we have talents labeled as 'special') and a new hologame based on the Disney movie: Yesterdayland.
I filled out the information, handing it back to him. He smirked over my choices. "Yeah… 10 on Charisma. At least I believe the 10 in Endurance." He nodded to me. "I see you rated your wife quite highly. Perfect 10 in Agility, Charisma, and Intelligence. "
"You should meet her some time." I replied back. "She earned those points."
The Vault-Tec guy nodded to me, stepping away from the door. "Have a nice day, and remember… We are prepared… for the future."
He rushed off to the next house, probably trying to sell them the same stuff he just gave to me. Oh well, it was nice to know that my family was protected now if the worst was to come.
"Sir… sir…" Codsworth said as he floated into the room. "Sir, it would seem Shaun is not impressed with my cold metallic exterior, so I was wondering if you would comfort the boy with your cold hard-as-steel arms." I'm so glad I programmed that into Codsworth's vocabulary. Sure, I didn't really think my arms were as strong as steel, but it could be said that I had… Adamantium plating on my limbs. That was my nickname in the army anyway, Adamantium Guy.
I looked back at the floating orb of a robot. It was unsettling how he had three eyes and three limbs. One of which was a saw blade… another was a flamethrower… and the last one was a giant clamp. Who designed these for child care? How is a sawblade a good idea for a family robot?
I shook the thought from my head. "I'll go see him."
Codsworth tipped his eyes in what looked like a bow. "Thank you, sir. I would ask mum to do it, but she's already tried everything she could imagine to calm the little tike down. Normally, she is very capable, but today… she seems off, sir. Any reason why that might be?"
She and me both. I was not feeling like myself today. I couldn't figure out what was going on, but I knew that something was wrong. Of course something was wrong. Two trained soldiers from two different armies living under one roof. Either army could decide we could be targets and send someone to kill us. Nora and I agreed on one little fact: no matter whose army showed up at our doorstep, the two of us were a team for now on. We would take them all on if it meant protecting each other and our children. And Codsworth, him too. He's a major part of this family now. I may have tried to assemble him and then tossed the pieces over to Nora to assemble, but I tried at least! Nora always had a bit of a thing for technology. Part of her intelligence background or something like that. China knows how to produce agents; I'll give them that much.
I shook my thoughts out of my head as I found myself standing in Shaun's room. Nora was bending over the crib's railing, looking the kid in the eye. She was holding one of those teething rings, trying to get him to calm down. Poor lad was teething, and he was so cranky because of it. "Hey, Shaun…." I cooed as I walked into the room.
Nora glanced back at me, smiling a bit of a relief. "Nate! Finally!"
I nodded as I walked into the room. "Yup. I'm here to save the day."
Nora looked so out of sorts. I wondered how I looked to her. Our baby has taken so much out of us these past four months that two highly trained soldiers, and possible assassins, are constantly put out of commission just by one little baby. As I walked into the room, I gave Nora a hug. "Babe… call the day off. Get some sleep."
She responded by punching me in the stomach. "You ever suggest that to me again, and I'll possibly kill you, maybe." I grabbed her arm, pinning her hand on me. We locked eyes for a few seconds, and we closed in on each other. I saw that glint in her eyes that meant the two of us were about to go wild on each other. We had hidden firearms all around the house, and all it took was one bullet to set both of us off. Soon enough, this household might turn into a warzone. Don't worry, they're paintball guns, Nerf guns, and water guns. Live ammo guns in the middle of a gated suburban town? Ha… we only had ten of those. And one missile launcher… that was Nora's.
"Hey, Nora… do you remember our last name?" I was having such a hard time remembering it. Remembering anything, anyway.
She paused. "Um… Smith?"
I shook my head. "No… I don't think it's Smith. The Smiths do live next door though. And we watched The Smiths: 50th Year Anniversary Remake last night, but I don't think that's my last name."
We paused, still locked in each other's arms, still seconds away from going full out on each other in the middle of our son's room when we heard Shaun break into a loud cry. That dried up any tension between us as Nora slumped in my arms. "Don't worry, baby, mommy's here." She turned around, walking back over to the crib.
I joined her by the crib. My little baby boy was swaddled in his favorite blanket, obviously needing of some attention. I reached down, tickling him with my free hand. "Hey, little buddy. How's my little soldier?"
Nora scoffed at the idea. "Your little soldier? Isn't that what you called your dick when I first met you?"
I tried my best to block the memory. "And what did it produce? … My new little soldier. You ruined my last one."
She held a laugh as she looked away. "Don't worry, honey. I'm sure it will grow back one day." She laughed as she turned around. "Well, I'm going to get something to eat, and head on to work. Have fun with the boy today. You work tomorrow, right?"
What did I do for a job? I believe I was a cop… isn't that how I know Nick? I think it was. This memory loss was really affecting me today. It sucks that I have to deal with this sometimes. And it's only minor stuff half the time. Why is so much of it being forgotten? I had to shake the thought away as I reached down to pick up my son. "Well, it's just you and me today, Shaun. Want to go to the park and play on that baby swing?"
He responded with a light coo. He always calmed down in my arms. I held him up to look him in the eye. He glanced right back at me, smiling dopily as he cooed. "Let's go see mommy."
"Sir… sir!" Codsworth screamed through the doorway. "The Misses needs you in the living room."
I nodded. "Right away, Codsworth."
I walked to the living room with Shaun in my arms. Nora was already standing by the door, her mouth nearly dropped to the floor. On the television was a news reporter. "Yes… flashes, we're reporting flashes. The Kent State Flashes have won for the tenth year in the row… wait… I'm told we've experiencing more than just Flash Fever… there are literal flashes being seen across the Northwest. Reports of explosions. The US has just confirmed that China has launched nuclear bombs."
The building silence outside was quickly replaced by loud warning sirens. Those sirens were our signal that something dangerous was about to happen. I glanced over at Nora. She looked quite sure of what our next action was. "Nate… Vault 111?"
I nodded. "Yeah."
"I'll grab our emergency bag!" She tore off towards our room. I looked around for something I could take. Then I realized I was carrying little Shaun. I don't know why we named him Shaun. My name was Nate… Nora adopted the Americanized name of well… Nora. She has a Chinese name, but I can't pronounce it for the life of me. Let alone spell it. Now, if she was Japanese, I'd be able to pronounce and spell it flawlessly, but alas… she's Chinese. My point being… both of our names begin with 'N'. So… why Shaun? Why not Nelson, Nick, Nathan… or something else?
I looked over at Codsworth. "Codsworth!"
The weird robot looked over at me with his three round eyes. "Sir? Would you like me to stay here and tend the house while you are away?"
What a stupid request. "No! You're family. You're coming with us!"
He floated away. "I'm afraid I need to do some yardwork. You'll have to go to the park without me. Good day, sir."
Did Codsworth even understand what was going on? The world is about to come to an end… and he's planning on doing yardwork? "Codsworth…" I started to follow him, but Nora was running back into the room, carrying our emergency bags, as well as Shaun's diaper bag.
"Ok, we're all set." She said.
"Did you remember our 10 mm?" I asked her.
"As well as our silencers, our extra clip of mags, and tampons." Well, I'm glad she remembered those. Last thing I need to deal with as an insecure man. "Let's go."
I rushed to the door, opening it for Nora. She nodded her thanks as she took off in a sprint down the road. I rushed behind her with Shaun in my hands. The emergency sirens were blaring as loudly annoying as possible. Neighbors I know, but knew almost nothing about currently, were all standing around. Some were crying, hugging their loved ones goodbye. Others were running for any safe place they could. I saw one neighbor smashing the windows of another neighbor he hated. All around us national guardsmen were doing what they could to get the civilians to gather around in a calm and collected manner.
Nora ran up the dirt path, and I followed right behind her. Soldiers waved us down, pointing down the dirt road. "All Vault participants up this lovely, scenic road to the vault! Be sure to keep your valuables close at all times!" Just as he said that, I saw the Smiths, arguing over a dropped piece of luggage. John Smith wanted to repack their valuables, Jane Smith wanted to abandon it and run for the vault. I'm agreeing with her by the way.
"Honey, keep up." Said the Chinese trained assassin. She sprinted with all the deadly glory of what she was up the dirt path. I had to admit… the fall time colors of these trees was beautiful. I wish I could slow down and enjoy this scenery while it was still here. I looked down as I jogged across a bridge with a beautiful little creak flowing underneath.
"Wow… this is really nice." I screamed to Nora as I tried to keep up with her.
"Yeah, I kind of wish we weren't running for our lives right now. It would this a lot more memorable." She said over her shoulder.
I finally caught up to her by a crowded fence. "Sir… you're not on the list." A soldier was patiently reporting to a ginger in a trench coat.
"But… I am Vault-Tec." The guy from earlier said.
"Sir…" A soldier wearing power armor started whirring his chaingun, as if he planned on letting it loose on the crowd of civilians. It scared the Vault-Tec guy to no end as he tripped on his coat, turning to run away.
"I'm reporting this!" He screamed as he ran past me.
"Good luck!" The soldier replied. "If you live long enough!"
I jogged up ahead of the massing crowd. "Let us in… we're on the list." Yeah... the list. The oh so important... list.
He looked down at the list that consisted of just genders and ages. "Adult male… adult female… small asshole baby demon child. Yup, you three fit the detailed description given to me." He waved us through. "Follow the path up." As we ran past, I heard him do the same with the Smiths. "John H. Smith, born February 6th, 2046. Lived in Concord, Massachusetts. Went to school at Concord International College of Business, graduated top of your class; grade point average of 3.12, graduated with honors. Discovered cure to chicken pox. Enjoys the color yellow, favorite band: Skillet… likes My Little Pony. Yup… all seems in order. Follow behind adult male and adult female."
Ok… that was oddly specific… why didn't he do that for me?
I jogged beside Nora as we raced up the dirt path. One very enthusiastic guard noticed us above anyone else and waved to us. "This way! Follow me!" He screamed as he ran ahead of us. "Up this road! Stand on that elevator like everyone else! Do it! Just… do it!" He shoved us ahead. Nora and I jogged up to the platform, the Smiths taking up right beside us.
"Oh no… I think I forgot to turn off the oven." Jane Smith said. She started to leave. "I need to turn it off."
John hugged her close to him. "Oh no… you're not leaving now."
There was a bright flash off in the distance followed by a massive mushroom cloud, the very ground shaking heavily underneath the impact of a nuclear bomb going off. Way bigger than my thumb. Crap…
"That's it! Lower it down!" One of the soldiers screamed. There was a slight quake underneath us as the platform started to pull underground. As it slowly clambered down, there was a massive wave of radioactive debris rolling towards us.
I hugged Nora close to me. "Hold me." If I was going to die, I was going to die embracing the one person on this green Earth that I loved above anything or anyone else.
She nudged me off her, smiling fanatically at the rolling nuclear debris. "Hold on… I'll never get to see this twice. I want to enjoy it. The destruction of America…"
Everyone glanced at us suspiciously. Nora seemed to catch her slip up because she looked around. "Um… go Cavs?"
Everyone nodded. "Seems American enough for me." John Smith said.
I grabbed Nora and Shaun pulling them down as the radioactive debris rolled over top of us. We had descended low enough that the radiation didn't seem to flow down to hit us or something like that. And now that the top of the bunker was closing, there was no way that we had become radiated by being nearly blasted by that radiation wave just now. Everyone up top was now a smoldering corpse or bones… and I felt sorry for them, but at least we're still alive.
And now… our new lives begin… in Vault 111.
Cearbhail:
So, I'm completely sold on the Chronicles of the Commonwealth being one of the new stories I begin. My brain just won't shut up about it. I could include a small teaser right now... so...
nah. Ok, fine. This is your gift.
...
[Mama Murphy]
"I can see it... it's dark... scary... hard..."
"I swear to... whatever counts as a deity these days..." Preston said as he turned to face me. "If you say anything about what I think you're thinking of, I will slap you with my Minuteman."
"It's coming..." My vision wasn't coming in very clear but I could clearly see it was a monster of a beast coming up from the ground to kill us. If only my mouth could work when I was receiving my visions. "It will take us from behind..." Really? That's all I can say. My vision shifted as I saw someone out there... protecting us. "Only one thing... wrapped in protection can save us..." Really? "From the ice box..."
Preston sighed as he looked back at me. "Really? That's where you're going with this? A dick joke?" He shook his head. "And to think... I thought today was going to be easy. Just an easy trek through Concord up to Sanctuary... should be easy. But no... now we have to deal with raiders... and dick jokes?"
"She's coming..." Was all I could say.
"Who's coming?"
"A stranger... who will save us... she's coming as we speak..."
...
...
[Nora] (Not during the same chapter, but later on in the story)
So... this was a thing. An subway station... and a off-track subway car that read "All are Welcome!" And sitting on a bench was a long line of teddy bears, all with holes in their arms and legs, stuffing pocking out. And... I could see what looked like a bathtub sheet covering the entrance to the conductor's seat. I could see a small figure moving on the other side of the sheet, and seeing how this whole place was filled with dead raiders and ghouls... I'm guessing it's probably a ghoul. "Danse... stay back."
"I won't make any promises." He replied. "If it's a ghoul, I'm blasting it."
I nodded as I walked up to the sheet. I thought I could hear whispering but... surely that's a mistake. "Don't worry, Mr. Poof Poof... we'll fix you up right away. Nurse! Three CC's of My Little Pony band-aids, stat!" I heard what sounded like a kid with a scratchy throat say to itself.
I approached the sheet and pulled it back quickly, pointing my pistol at what looked like a miniature ghoul. The ghoul... it looked just like a little girl, maybe 12. Dressed in a typical floral dress that looked stained from years of radiation abuse. As soon as I pulled the sheet out, the ghoul turned to look at me with deep blue eyes, almost like my boy's. She had long auburn hair like a human but her skin was darker than it should have been, and cracked like a ghoul's. You could tell in one look that she wasn't full human, but she wasn't jumping on top of me trying to rip me apart either so... I'm guessing she's still human enough in her mind.
"Hi?" The girl asked as she looked at me and then at Danse. "Are you my daddy and mommy?"
Danse looked at her for a full second before bringing up his rifle. "I'm killing it."
...
If feel like you're going to enjoy this, or if you need a recommendation before reading it, begin with the Chronicles of Lydia. Just read a few chapters to make up your mind. I don't promise perfection, far from it. And that's the beauty of it.
